You know, when you get involved with the day-to-day stuff that being in the field is all about, the last thing that gets done is posting on Nebraska Wheatie! Oh…I think about it at the end of the day but most times, taking my shower and finishing up the what-needs-to-be-done-before-you-go-to-bed chores takes precedence. And then, all at once, another week has gone by! No wonder it feels like the summer has zoomed by!
Well, we made it to what could be our final stop for the 2013 harvest season. Coming back to Jordan feels like returning home! We’ve been coming here since 1981. My Grandpa & Grandma were looking for wheat to cut when we stopped here 32 years ago. Who would have known just how important this little town would become to the Z Crew!
Before we left Denton, Jim and I cleaned the combine and header – AGAIN. My job…the header. Yuck! I sent Taylor & Callie a text and asked them if they missed this mess.
While we were in Limon, CO, the girls and I took our turn one evening to help with the supper meal. Although everything worked out just fine, it seemed like an overwhelming task considering we have a “Barbie” sized oven to cook in. After I mentioned the items the girls and I cooked in my post, it began only 17 days ago, I had a couple of people ask me for the recipes. If you read the post, you’ll also understand the title of this post. I will share the recipes with you – but first, I have to tell a story about the cookbook they came from.
The above picture shows you the reason I can begin to fill you in on how the past ten days have gone. It will be two weeks ago on Wednesday night that we came rolling into Denton. It seems like at least two months ago. Those semis you see in the picture are lined up waiting to haul the grain away from the elevator. They’re pretty much always here with those of us waiting to dump. It’s somewhat a vicious circle. The crop is amazingly large this year! We’ve been cutting 75+ bushel wheat since we started. Jim says there’s one four-letter word for it…SLOW. We have been lucky to get about 60 acres cut per day – per machine (we’re cutting with the farmer).
“We were just in here yesterday”, says Mr. Jim as we’re walking into the Scottsbluff, NE WalMart this evening. “No we weren’t. It must have been the day before”, I replied. “Nope, it was just yesterday”, said Jim. Continue reading
So…it’s really going to happen.
Taylor and Callie will be packing up their stuff tomorrow. They have decided that it would be best to head home from Limon rather than make the big move to Denton, MT with us only to turn around and head home. Good choice, I suppose. However, for those of you who have followed our journey for at least a year, you know I don’t handle the goodbye very well. After the girls have left, the reminders of them being here with us are everywhere. Even their towels make me cry. Nothing new. You would think by now it just wouldn’t affect me like that. WRONG! So, tonight, I’m trying to soak in all the giggles, the yelling and the chatter between the two of them because in a couple of nights, that will be gone. I’ll have tomorrow with them and then I probably won’t see them again for six weeks. Ugh!
It’s been 17 days since we arrived in Limon, CO. Today was the first rain day we’ve had since we started. We may have had down time previously but it wasn’t because of rain. We were nearly finished with the acres we had lined up but the daily storms finally caught us yesterday afternoon (Saturday). We had been lucking out with storms all around us but not on us. It rained 1/2 inch yesterday and 1.5 inches today. I think we’re out of commission now for a little while. Today was pure torture for the girls. They had NOTHING to do and it nearly drove them crazy. I, on the other hand, had quite a bit to get caught up with. It took most of the day but it’s done again. I appreciate the days to get caught up on what gets pushed aside while we’re busy in the field.
I am NOT a farmer. Our livelihood, however, depends on the American farmer. If they didn’t raise the crops that we harvest, we would have no reason to do what we do.
Thursday morning I woke up, looked out the window and saw other trailers. For a brief moment, I had to search the ‘ole memory bank to remember where the heck we were. Oh…now I remember – Limon, CO. This is our 7th year in Limon. We won’t be cutting for the same farmers that we had for the past six. Their last harvest was last summer. They decided it was time to do something different for a while. As you may recall from earlier posts, when we left home over four weeks ago, we didn’t have a job lined up to replace this one. God is good! We’re working for a new farmer. New names to put with new faces. New adventures. New people to add to our Christmas list. Most of the people we work for end up becoming more than just a job! Continue reading
It’s been a few days since I felt like I had time to play catch up with my writing. We’re still in Garden City and still cutting wheat. Considering the summer, I feel we’re fortunate to say this!
And…I’m feeling quite fortunate to tell you the wheat we’re cutting for our farmer is doing much better than expected! The dry land wheat has averaged 30 bushels per acre with a weight of 62 lbs. Gary, the farm manager, told me before we started that the dry land was going to do better than the irrigated due to the late freezes they had in April. He said it would be lucky to make 20 bushels per acre. We’re cutting that irrigated now – it’s averaging 65 bushels per acre! The weight is the same 62-63 lbs. The Yellow Beast doesn’t know what to do with good wheat and moving at a slower pace.